SHADES OF LOSS

You have taken my wealth
And gulped it down your greedy throat.
It was sweeter than honey,

But you drank it all the same.

I have sucked doubt and worry
From the wound on my thigh.
And licked the sores that doom
Left on my skin as a parting gift.
If you see me cry,
Do not tell me what loss looks like
Until you have sat in my seat
And board the train of plight.
If you have heard sorrow's song,
Trapped in the valley of nothing,
You will become a pitiful thing
And fall apart before it ends.

Ah!
Have you dined with the sons of oblivion?
Or drank wine with the king of drunkards?
I have done it all,
Aye!
I have spat on the ground,
And squashed it beneath my boot
That i may curse the witches of my land.
I have visited the devil's pit
That opens his door at midnight
That I may vent my anger and pain,
But it avails me nothing...
Failing woefully to heal my wounds
That the spirit of loss left in me
When he carved his mark on my body
And left without looking back.

Do not look for me now,
Do not search for my smile now,
For the only thing that I feared
Has finally gotten his hold in me.

©Okunola Peace.